US OFFICE OF DEFENSE COOPERATION PROVIDES ENGLISH LANGUAGE LAB FOR ARMENIAN AVIATION INSTITUTE

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 17 2006

The US Embassy’s Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) announced the
opening of the new English language laboratory that it provided to
the Armenian Aviation Institute. This is the second English language
laboratory that the ODC, through its International Military Education
and Training program, has provided to the Aviation Institute, and the
third that it has provided to the Armenian Ministry of Defense. US
Charge d’Affaires Anthony F. Godfrey and General Mayor Melkonyan
participated in the ceremony. During the event, Charge d’Affaires
Godfrey noted that this facility will be integral to helping Armenian
officers and soldiers learn English – an essential component of helping
Armenia’s forces work together with the forces of other nations in
international coalitions.

The new English language laboratory, which was installed by US
contractor Dal Media Solutions, can facilitate 15 students at a time.

It is equipped with student workstations with headphones, and the
instructor can further use a desktop computer with Internet access,
televisions, CD players, and DVD/VHS players to help students learn
English. The U.S. ODC has also provided English language instructor
training to Lieutenant Irene Arakelyan and Lieutenant Artak Pandunts,
who will work to further increase the quality of English language
training at the Institute.

The new lab will help fulfill the joint goal of the US ODC and
the Armenian Ministry of Defense to centralize English language
instruction standards for Armenian officers, non-commissioned officers,
and soldiers at the Aviation Institute. The ODC plans to upgrade both
English language laboratories at the Aviation Institute in 2007 so
that each student workstation is equipped with a laptop computer that
will be networked to the instructor’s computer to further diversify
the resources that are available at the Institute.

The US Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) in Armenia works to foster
U.S. government and industry assistance in the Armenian defense
sphere. The US ODC works for the US Chief of Mission in Armenia and
the US European Command, located in Stuttgart, Germany.